Europe Remembers Holocaust, but Forgets Red Army Heroism. Why?
"Political. Although there are no problems in the relations between Europe and Baltic republics, there are many Russians living and working in these countries. In October I visited one of our communities in Estonia and was astonished by the strong opposition these people felt against the Estonian government. The same happens in Latvia. In the presence of ideological intolerance we have to leave at least one channel where we can come together."
"So nothing can be done?"
I saw the people who would be the victims of an economic boycott. We should fight with governments and regiments, not peoples. I will tell you a very important story. Five years ago I was in Krakow, Poland, and wanted to pray on Sabbath. I went to Kazimierz district that had all attributes of Jewish culture but no people since they all had died in concentration camps. There is one working synagogue left that barely has enough visitors, mostly tourists. After the prayer, I talked to the head of the community, and he told me that their keeper was the last from the “Schindler’s list.” I talked to this keeper asking him about the events of those days in his life in a ghetto. He told me that he was hung by a ghetto policeman who was Jewish. A German passing by saw it and said “How dare you hang him without my permission? Take him off !” This policeman was Roman Polanski’s father. This story is another proof that you cannot judge people collectively and generalize. Details matter."
